//------------------------------// // Rainbow Dash 6 // Story: Unwell: Recovery // by HazamaBrony //------------------------------// The universe has a way of crushing my hopes. The next two days dragged on forever. I’m not even sure why. It wasn’t like Clean Shine and I had done anything that I hadn’t before. It was mostly cleaning rooms and sheets, as well as windows. So why in the hay did it feel like it took forever for the end of Friday to roll around? Still, that just made me appreciate the fact that I was free for two whole days even sweeter. Well, two and a half if I count what was left of today. Now I just had to figure out what the heck I was going to do with my time. There wasn’t much point in going to the hospital over the weekend if I couldn’t visit Twilight. Then again, if I went tomorrow, I might run into Twilight’s parents… I shook my head as I wandered into my room at the hotel. No, that would be kind of awkward. How would I even introduce myself? “Hi, I’m Rainbow Dash. I’ve been dating your daughter, even though she probably hasn’t told you about me. And yes, I’ve actually been waiting here at the hospital so I could surprise you with this before you see Twilight. Oh, don’t worry, she’s already told me all about A.C.M.S., so you don’t need to explain anything to me,” I said out loud, as I flopped onto the bed to think. Ugh. That would go over well. It would be so much simpler if Twilight could just introduce us. Or… I sat straight up on the bed. Or I could have somepony else introduce us… like Shining Armor! That would be perfect, I decided as I trotted into the bathroom to take a quick shower. Shining would be able to set up a time and place for the three of us to meet, and he could handle the introductions. It was perfect! Now all I had to do was find the stallion. Hopefully he would still be at the guard station, but I had no idea how late he worked or if he even worked today. Oh well, only one way to find out. The guard station itself was a lot bigger than the one we had in Ponyville, but I guess that was only to be expected. It did have to watch over an entire city, rather than just one small town. But perhaps that was for the best. If it was a larger station, then there had to be more work to do, which made it more likely that Shining was still here, right? Now that I was feeling a little bit more confident, I marched up to the front office and rang the bell. A very bored looking stallion glanced up at me from behind a newspaper. “What do you want?” he asked gruffly. “Is Captain Shining Armor still in? I’d like to speak with him real quick,” I said. “Normally he wouldn’t be, but he had to help close a case today. He should be on his way out right now, so you might be able to see him as he goes home. Just make it quick. He has some sort of appointment after work, so he doesn’t have a lot of time. If you take a seat you can wait here.” “Thanks,” I said as I turned to sit down and get a look around the room. Oddly, it was much more clinical than the actual hospital. It was a uniform shade of grey, with no plants and very cheap looking seats. There were only two other ponies in the room, a mid-aged stallion and mare, and both looked rather worn down. The mare was a light shade of grey with a purple and white mane, while the stallion was blue from top to bottom. I didn’t want to bother them. With the couple looking so downcast, they were probably waiting for news on something unpleasant. All in all, best to leave them alone. Of course, if I wasn’t going to talk to them, that left me at a loss for what to do. I didn’t see any magazines or even any pamphlets, so reading was out. That left… sitting quietly in my chair. Yay. About thirty seconds later I was already bored out of my mind. Seriously, I know most ponies that come through here are being arrested or on their way to an office or something, but when the most interesting thing about a room is wondering how that stain got on the ceiling, ponies like me get restless. I shifted in my seat, and it let out a squeak. Lovely. Maybe I could come back later… no, Shining would be gone by then, and the guard would tell him I had been looking for him, and he would start wondering why I showed up just to leave. I sighed, and tried to find a more comfortable way to sit. Unfortunately, all that achieved was getting the chair to let out a slightly different noise. Another movement, another noise. Hey, I wonder if I could get the chair to play the national anthem? I had gotten midway through the first line when I caught the grey mare glaring at me. As soon as she saw me looking back at her, she turned up her muzzle at me and let out an angry groan. I had been on the verge of apologizing, but something about the way she looked at me just annoyed me. So the instant she looked away, I deliberately shifted in my seat again, and snickered to myself when her head whipped around at the noise. This time, however, instead of going back to her quiet conversation with her… husband? With the stallion, she got up and marched over to me. “Listen you imbecile, this isn’t some sort of classroom at your community college where you can get a laugh out of the other morons by doing something stupid. This is a guard station! At least a touch of decorum is called for. So sit down and stay still!” Before I even realized it, I was standing with my muzzle almost pressed against hers. I opened my mouth to fire back— When I caught sight of her cutie mark. It was a trio of stars… similar to the ones on Shining Armor’s and Twilight’s… and the guard said Shining had an appointment with somepony after work… Oh, shoot. The mare must have taken my mouth hanging open as some sort of admission of defeat. She turned with a huff and took her seat right next to her husband. I took a breath to steel myself and took a step towards the couple. As the sound of my hooves on the hard floor got closer, the mare turned and glared at me again, but before she could say anything I cut her off. “Listen, are you waiting here for Shining Armor?” I asked. This time it was her mouth that hung open, and I took that as proof that my guess was right on the money. “Sorry, I think we got off on the wrong hoof. My name is Rainbow Dash. What are yours?” “I’m Star Sparkle, and this is my wife, Twilight Velvet,” the stallion said quickly, cutting over his wife as she opened her mouth. “And why do you care?” Velvet said as soon as her husband finished speaking. “I was actually waiting here to ask Shining to introduce me to his parents, but… listen, I’m really sorry for annoying you. I just got bored with nothing to do and… sorry.” The couple exchanged a puzzled glance. “Well, as you might have guessed, you just met us. But you still haven’t told us why you care,” Velvet said, taking a tentative step towards me. “Well, uh… you see… I’m dating Twilight,” I said, and then winced as both their mouths dropped open in shock. “It’s true,” Shining said from somewhere behind us. “And you don’t need to worry, Mom, Dad. I already ran some background checks on her and she seems like a good pony.” “Shining!” the three of us chorused. “How long have you known about this?” Velvet asked, sounding hurt. “How’s Twilight?” Star asked quickly. “You did a background check on me?” I asked, feeling oddly flattered. “Whoa, whoa, one at a time,” Shining said, waving a hoof wearily. Now that I got a good look at him, he seemed rather…burnt out, with bags under his eyes and a messed up mane. “First, Mom, I only found out after I sent you the letter about Twilight, so it’s not like I was hiding this from you. Second, Rainbow… yes I did. I’m sorry for the invasion of privacy, but I wanted to be sure you were good enough for Twilight. And as for how Twilight is doing…” Shining sighed. “It might be best if we discussed that during dinner.” “Oh… I see…” Velvet said. “Why don’t you get going?” Shining suggested to his parents. “I’ll catch up to you in a second. I just need a second with Rainbow.” Both Velvet and Star nodded, before trotting out of the room. I gave Shining a puzzled look. “So, what do you need?” I asked. He raised an eyebrow at that. “That’s my line. Private Gladius told me you were waiting for me, for some reason.” “Oh!” I face-hoofed. “It doesn’t really matter now, but I wanted you to introduce me to your parents. It’s a moot point now, though…” “Ah. Well, how about I set up some time for the four of us to get together next week? That way, you three can meet without any yelling. Sound good?” “Yeah. Could you tell your mom that I’m sorry for annoying her? It is kind of my fault we got off on the wrong hoof…” “I’ll do that,” Shining said, “but don’t worry about it. It isn’t all your fault. Mom can get kind of short tempered under stress, but she means well. And besides, Dad is almost always there to calm her down, but with everything going on, both of them are out of sorts.” “I can understand that. Anyways, I’m feeling pretty tired, so I’m gonna fly back to my hotel and get some shut eye.” “Understood. I’ll let you know when we can get together. Would next weekend be good for you?” “That works for me. See you then!” Saturday was uneventful, but I was thankful for that. After that eventful and exhausting week, some downtime was much appreciated. I passed the time by going out and actually visiting a book store. After a while, I left the book store with the first book of a series that the employees swore was just as good as, if not better, than Daring Do called Sliverwing. Needless to say, I was skeptical, but I was willing to give it a chance. After all, I was caught up on Daring, and I wanted something Twilight and I could read together once she started getting better. Of course, that just left me wondering if I should start reading it now, or to wait till Twilight was in a good enough state that we could start reading together. In the end, I decided to at least start reading it to see if it was as good as the recommendations said. As it turned out, I spent the rest of the day reading it. As soon as Sunday rolled around, I practically leaped out of bed. It was going to be nice to just hang out with my friends after everything that had happened. As it turned out, I had gotten out of bed just in time. As soon as I got done with my shower, there was a knock on the door. Smiling, I trotted over and opened it up to find five ponies smiling back at me. Wait… five? “Hey, Lyra!” I said. “What are you doing here?” “Oh, you know, I’m just gonna tag along with all of you today! I mean, I’ve got nothing better to do, and I’d like to get to know the rest of you better. Twilight and Rarity have been helping me with my project—“ “Our project, you mean,” Rarity cut in, but her disapproving tone was kind of ruined by her smile. “—Our project,” Lyra continued without missing a beat. “I know I’m not an Element of Harmony, but I’d still like to be your friend.” I stared at her for a moment, just long enough to let her sweat, before breaking into a smile. “That honestly sounds nice, Lyra. Welcome to our little group!” “Cool!” Lyra cheered. “Now then, let’s get going!” “So,” I asked as our group made its way towards the elevator, “What’s the plan for the day?” “Well, we were planning on seeing a play, going out to dinner, and then catching that Wonderbolts show. Does that sound good to you?” Rarity said. “Yes… wait, wait, wait! Wonderbolts show!? What Wonderbolts show!?” The rest of the group gave me an odd look. “The special night time one? Remember?” Fluttershy said. “Uh, no? I don’t remember that.” Suddenly, Pinkie slapped herself in the forehead. “Oh, right! It was only announced last week, and you’ve been busy! Well, don’t worry, Dashie, we already have tickets! And I hear that their night shows are a doozy!” Well, that explained why I hadn’t heard the Wonderbolts were doing a show. On occasion, they would just up and announce a show during the off season, usually when they needed a bit more money or to donate to a charity or something. Still, I wasn’t going to complain, especially if we already had tickets to the show. “Awesome!” I exclaimed. “Lead the way!” “That was the saddest play I have ever seen!” “Eh, it wasn’t so sad, Lyra.” “Oh, really, Dash? Then who did I hear crying during the second act, during the balcony scene?” “N—Nopony! I wasn’t crying!” “Whatever you say, Dash.” “Mhhump! Mermgmph!” “Pinkie, darling, please stop pretending your tongue is stuck to that pole or we’re going to be late to dinner.” “Thut ith ish!” “It’s the middle of summer!” “Oh, phew! I thought I was in trouble for a second there. Say, Rarity, why is your eye twitching?” “So, um, Applejack…” “Yeah, Fluttershy? Speak up.” “How was Twilight? You saw her yesterday, right?” “She was… uh, well, she didn’t say much, and just kind of stared off into space. I just read her a book for a while, and that was it. “Oh… I see.” “Five bits on Spitfire!” “Pfft! Only five? Fifteen bits on Fleetfoot to overtake her and win… on the final straight!” “You’re on!” Half an hour later, Applejack grudgingly forked over my winnings as we left the stadium. “I should have known better than bet against the Wonderbolt expert,” she complained. “Anytime, Applejack,” I said, tucking away my money. “Anytime.” “I must say,” Rarity said, “Even with all your knowledge of the Wonderbolts, that was a very specific bet to make.” “Well, with the course they were flying, Spitfire has the advantage in the corners and turns, but Fleetfoot was close enough behind her that her superior speed in the straights let her beat Spitfire. Spitfire is good, but she is a little slow in a straight line.” “Oh, you wound me, Rainbow Dash,” said a voice from behind me. I spun around, and sure enough, there stood Spitfire in full uniform and clutching some sort of magazine under her wing. “Spit—Spitfire! Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to say you were slow, I just—“ Spitfire cut me off with a chuckle. “Relax, Dash. I’m well aware of my strengths and weaknesses. No harm done. Anyways, I heard that you all were attending the show, so I wanted to talk to your group before you left.” “You—You wanted to—“ THE Spitfire wanted to talk to me!? Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh— “Herk!” Darn it Rainbow, remember to breathe. Spitfire gave me a strange look before continuing. “I just wanted to offer my condolences about your friend, Twilight. It must have come as a shock to find out about her.” Huh? “What do you mean?” Spitfire looked taken back. “You mean you don’t know? Twilight was just committed to a mental institution. They—“ I was in her face in a flash. “How in Equestria do you know that? That’s supposed to be secret!” “It was in that newspaper!” Spitfire said, taking a step back. “What newspaper?” “This one!” She said, holding the magazine out like it was a shield. I took one look at the cover and felt my stomach drop. Right there on the front page was a picture of Twilight looking frazzled and out of sorts. I immediately recognized it as a photo from the smartiepants incident. Above that was the headline ‘Twilight Sparkle: Hero or Madmare?’ I dimly heard everypony behind me gasp, but I was too focused on the paper to turn around. How the heck had this happened?